Anti-war organisations say Russian language and culture should be separated from Moscow’s state influence through independent Houses of Democracy.
Russian anti-war and democratic organisations have backed a Ukrainian call for European governments to restrict or close Russian Houses operating under the aegis of Rossotrudnichestvo, proposing independent Houses of Democracy in their place.
The appeal, supported by Russian organisations working in Europe and North America, follows a request from Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, for democratic governments to limit the activities of the centres. Its authors say the issue is not opposition to the Russian language, culture or Russian-speaking communities, but who controls the institutions and whose political interests they serve.
They argue that Russian Houses represent the state system of a country waging an aggressive war against Ukraine and seeking to maintain political and information influence abroad, rather than the diversity of Russian society. The proposed alternative would aim to preserve access to culture and public life while removing the Kremlin’s monopoly over how Russian identity is represented outside Russia.
Separating culture from the Russian state
The organisations behind the appeal say Russian is not the property of the Kremlin. Nor, they argue, can the Russian government speak for all Russians, including those who oppose the war, dictatorship and political repression.
That distinction is intended to prevent measures against Russian state structures from becoming collective suspicion of Russian-speaking people. European societies are home to millions of Russian-speaking citizens and emigrants, and the signatories say their language, literature, art and cultural heritage should remain open to those who reject the policies of the Russian authorities.
The proposal also reflects concern that simply closing state-run Russian centres could create a cultural and social vacuum. If no independent institutions replace them, the space could later be occupied again by organisations linked to Moscow. For that reason, the appeal combines a demand for scrutiny of Rossotrudnichestvo with a call to build an alternative rooted in civil society.
What Houses of Democracy would do
The proposed Houses of Democracy would be independent spaces established by Russian democratic civil society in partnership with organisations in host countries. Their suggested work would include supporting independent Russian and Russian-language culture, providing educational and public information programmes, and preserving independent Russian-language journalism.
They could also help political prisoners and persecuted activists, support the adaptation of refugees and emigrants, and provide a setting for discussion about the future of a democratic Russia. Another proposed role would be to encourage dialogue between Russians, Ukrainians and European societies.
For European governments, the model is presented not only as a cultural initiative but as a security measure. Its supporters say it would separate support for Russian-speaking people from co-operation with Russian state bodies, while reducing the risk that cultural projects are used to advance political influence or spread Kremlin narratives.
Calls for scrutiny and safeguards
The signatories have called on European and other democratic governments to examine Rossotrudnichestvo and the network of Russian Houses in relation to national security, the transparency of their funding and possible foreign interference.
At the same time, they want governments to support infrastructure for a free Russian civil society that is independent of the Kremlin, accountable to the public and compliant with the laws of the countries where it operates. That approach, they say, could support integration and public dialogue as well as efforts to counter disinformation.
The statement was signed by La Asociación de Rusos Libres in Spain, Canada’s Database of War Supporters “Nuremberg Trial 2.0”, Russians for Freedom and Democracy, Associazione dei Russi Liberi in Italia, the human rights project Iskra, Russie-Libertés in France, the Democratic Community of Russians in Cyprus, Russian America for Democracy in Russia, Freies Russland NRW, Russi Contro La Guerra Italia, the Democratic Community of Russian Speakers in Finland, Antiwar Serbia and the Russian Democratic Society in the UK.
Individual signatories include Marat Gelman, Dmitry Gudkov, Elena Lukyanova, Maxim Reznik and Anastasia Shevchenko. Their intervention places pressure on governments to decide whether engagement with Russian-speaking communities should continue through institutions connected to the state responsible for the war, or through independent organisations that oppose it.
The immediate test will be whether European governments respond by closing or restricting existing centres alone, or by helping create credible independent institutions capable of serving the communities left outside Moscow’s official network.
Should European governments prioritise restricting Russian state-linked centres or funding independent Houses of Democracy?
